Donna Yee, PhD’90, is the chief executive officer of the Asian Community Center in Sacramento, Calif., which dedicates itself to the well-being of senior citizens of all cultures. Christopher Parr, MFA’91, is founder and editor-in-chief of Pursuitist.com, a luxury blog. Chris is a luxury-marketing veteran and a frequent speaker at interactive marketing conferences. His company, Parr Interactive, creates blogging and buzz-marketing platforms, and provides digital marketing services, Web design strategies and social media solutions. Ron Sun, PhD’92, professor of cognitive science at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and an expert in cognitive theories and systems, was elected a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. Ron is one of 297 newly selected fellows recognized for their outstanding contributions to the electrical and information technologies and sciences for the benefit of humanity and the profession. Dan Tichenor, PhD’96, is the Philip H. Knight Professor of Social Science and senior faculty fellow at the Wayne Morse Center for Law and Politics at the University of Oregon. He is the author of more than 50 refereed journal articles and book chapters, and is the author or editor of six books. His most recent work is the “Oxford Handbook of the Politics of International Migration.” His book “Dividing Lines: The Politics of Immigration Control in America” won the American Political Science Association’s Gladys M. Kammerer Award for the best book on public policy. Hao Wu, MS’96, will join the New America Foundation as a fellow on Sept. 1 and will develop documentary projects revealing the complexities of modern China. Originally trained as a molecular biologist, he now travels between the Internet and filmmaking worlds. He directed and produced “Beijing or Bust,” a feature documentary shown on PBS. His second feature, “The Road to Fame,” had its world premiere in June. He is also producing “Zanta,” a feature documentary about a Tibetan widow’s struggle to raise her son in Beijing. Vedrana Jelusic Kasic, IBS MA’97, was appointed director of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development’s office in Zagreb, Croatia. She joined the bank in 1998 in London and was transferred to the Zagreb office in 2005 to manage agribusiness operations in Croatia and the western Balkans. She later became regional agribusiness coordinator for all of southeastern Europe. Nikolay Vassilev, MA’97, is CEO of Expat Capital, the largest independent investment company in Bulgaria. He manages money for individuals, and handles mergers and acquisitions as well as some private equity investments. He previously held multiple positions in the Bulgarian government, including minister of economy and minister of transport and communications. The Barbara Cassidy Band, composed of Barbara Cassidy, MA’98, and her husband, Eric Chasalow, the Irving Fine Professor of Music at Brandeis, has released a new album, “Fly Away.” The six-song EP features four new songs and two cover songs. Julie Bailit, MA’98, Heller MM’98, was featured on the “Today” show, where she spoke about her participation in a group called Slim Peace. The group, which recently expanded to Boston, is designed to empower women of all faiths to improve their eating habits and adopt a healthy lifestyle through a group support system run by certified facilitators. Greg Anderson, IBS PhD’99, previously North American head of G-10 strategy at Citi, was named global head of foreign-exchange strategy at BMO Capital Markets. Greg was at Citi for two years after serving as a currency strategist at Société Générale. He has also worked at ABN Amro and BankBoston, and owns a part-time consulting business, Harmonics FX.

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